Sicilian Defense
The Sicilian Defense is a chess move by Black of its Queen's bishop's pawn forward by two spaces ("c5"), typically in response to a White opening of "e4" (King's pawn moved forward by two spaces).
The Sicilian Defense is so successful that its lowers the "e4" opening by white to a rank of #2 behind "d4" in terms of the most successful White openings.
Be careful in using the Sicilian Defense to protect against a quick attack by White. As a bit of a flanking maneuver, the Sicilian Defense is an aggressive long-term strategy which has some short-term vulnerabilities.
Contents
Statistical Outcomes
White Wins - 37.4%
Draw - 29.7%
Black Wins - 33% (remarkably high)
White Response to Sicilian Defense
The most common White response is 2.Nf3, or (less common) 2.Nc3.[1]
Another response is the Smith-Morra Gambit:[2]
1. e4 c5
2.d4 exd4
3.c3 dxc3
4.Nxc3
Dragon Variation
An effective variation on the Sicilian Defense is the Dragon Variation, which usually culminates in a fianchetto by Black on g7 subsequent to the following:
1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 g6
Famous games playing the Dragon Variation
These famous games using the Dragon Variation are available online:[3]
- Y. Gusev vs Averbakh, 1951
- Bronstein vs Tal, 1982
- Adams vs Shirov, 1991
- Kasimdzhanov vs Kramnik, 1999
See also
References
- ↑ https://www.masterclass.com/articles/chess-101-what-is-the-sicilian-defense-learn-how-to-perform-and-defend-against-the-chess-opening-with-a-step-by-step-guide#what-is-the-sicilian-defense
- ↑ https://www.thechesswebsite.com/smith-morra-gambit/
- ↑ https://www.thechesswebsite.com/sicilian-dragon-variation/
